Shloka 43
धर्मद्वारबहुत्वविमर्शः — Reflection on the Many ‘Doors’ of Dharma (Śānti-parva 342)
अधिभूतानि चान्तेषु तदिच्छंश्वास्मि भारत । क्रमणाच्चाप्यहं पार्थ विष्णुरित्यभिसंज्ञित:
adhibhūtāni cānteṣu tad icchaṃ śvāsmī bhārata | kramaṇāc cāpy ahaṃ pārtha viṣṇur ity abhisamjñitaḥ ||
Arjuna berkata: “Wahai Bhārata, aku ingin memahami hal yang berkaitan dengan makhluk berjasad pada saat penghujung hayat. Dan wahai Pārtha, kerana Aku meresapi segala-galanya dengan langkah dan kehadiran-Ku yang melampaui segalanya, maka dengan sebab itu Aku dikenali dengan nama ‘Viṣṇu’.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links the name ‘Viṣṇu’ with the idea of all-pervasiveness and transcendence—one who ‘strides over’ or surpasses all limits. It also frames a key ethical-spiritual concern: understanding what governs embodied existence, especially at life’s end, when one’s deepest aspiration turns toward the highest reality.
Arjuna addresses his interlocutor using epic honorifics (Bhārata, Pārtha) and asks to be instructed about the principle connected with embodied beings at the final moment. In the same breath, the verse explains the epithet ‘Viṣṇu’ as arising from the divine capacity to pervade and surpass all through an all-encompassing ‘stride.’